1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates generally to a bowl-like container adapted to hold a packaged food and more particularly, a bowl-like container for an expandable food pouch which can be heated in a microwave oven.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
The prior art has developed many expandable food packages adapted for storing and cooking expandable food products such as popcorn. Generally, packages of this type comprise an aluminum pan portion having an expandable aluminum cover. A container of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,815,883. Because of the excellent moisture barrier and heat conduction properties of aluminum foil, it is well suited for use in this type of container which is used for storing as well as popping the popcorn. In operation, the container is placed over a suitable heat source which brings the contents of the container to proper popping conditions. As popping progresses, the foil top expands from a crimped condition to make room for the popcorn in its popped state.
A similar metal foil container is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,052,554. In this patent, two sheets of light gauge metal foil, such as aluminum foil are placed in overlying, substantially, face to face relationship secured together substantially along their edges by adhesive or mechanical means. The popcorn is mixed with frying fat and disposed between the two face to face foil sheets. The pouch is heated in a pan and will expand upon the application of heat to assume a rotund or pillow shape having a somewhat semi-eliptical upper and lower section. This patent also discloses that the expandable pouch can be formed in a variety of shapes such as square, round or circular, etc.
While these containers have been a great commercial success and have provided a convenient means for both storing and preparing popcorn, they are not suitable for use with microwave heating means. Aluminum foil effectively shields the product from microwave energy and prevents it from heating the package contents. Thus, the popular expandable aluminum foil popcorn package cannot be employed for heating the popcorn by microwave energy.
U.S Pat. No. 4,036,423 provides a non-metallic, expandable food package which is capable of storing expandable foods such as popcorn and then heating them in microwave ovens. The disclosed package has a base portion which includes foldably attached, integral flanges to which a cover of flexible plastic film is secured along a continuous periphery, resulting in a totally enclosed container. Because the closed container is formed by the combination of the base portion and the film cover, the base portion must be made of a material which will serve as a suitable moisture, oxygen and fat barrier. Also, the base portion must be constructed of a material capable of forming an effective seal with the film. Thus, the material for forming the container will be relatively expensive and a high degree of control must be exercised during formation of the container. The construction of the container is made more difficult by the necessity for sealing the film to the base portion flanges after assembly of the base portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,045 illustrates a self-contained popcorn package suitable for microwave heating. However, the package is not adapted to be stored in an outer container wherein it can be readily and expediently cooked in that container and the contents, after cooking, confined and consumed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,907 illustrates that polyethylene terephthalate can be used as a packaging film or pouch under high temperature conditions.
However, until the inventions of Austin alone, and Austin and Kane, assigned to the same assignee as the present application, and entitled "Expandable Food Pouch and Container", the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein, the prior art was substantially devoid of any teachings whatsoever of the combination of an outer bowl-like carton or container preferably made of inexpensive paperboard, which can contain an expandable and separate polyethylene terephthalate package containing an expandable food product such as popcorn, which can be heated in the original outer, paperboard package in a microwave oven; the inner package being specifically dimensioned and conformed to the shape of the container so that its expansion is contained wholly within the confines of the outer bowl-like container and progresses in an orderly confined manner in a confined space, precluding the inner package or pouch from bursting thereby spilling the contents thereof or being uncontrolled to the extent that opening of the expandable package or pouch will cause the expanded food product, such as popcorn, to overflow the confines of the outer container and be placed in an unsanitary environment prior to being consumed. Further, the inner package is dimensioned so as to be supported in the container to assure proper drainage of the cooking fats and oils during heating of the product so the product cooks completely in an expedient fashion.
Specifically, in the Austin and Kane, and Austin inventions, a pouch is disclosed which includes an expandable food product sealed within the pouch. The pouch is formed of a substantially oxygen-impermeable, flexible, synthetic high polymer film capable of maintaining product freshness over extended periods of time and withstanding the temperatures and moisture vapor developed upon heating the packaged food product in a microwave oven for a period of time effective to fully expand the food product to a volume of at least twice that as packaged. The expandable food product is sealed in a circular configuration in the center of the pouch. The outer edges of the pouch are also heat-sealed and formed into a concentric circle with the expandable food product.
A planar projection of the diameter of the expandable food product in the pouch is substantially equivalent to a diagonal of the planar projection of a polygonally shaped mouth of an outer bowl-like paperboard container or carton in which the pouch is sealed and adapted to expand during heating. The outer carton or container also has a complemental, polygonally shaped base and sloping side walls forming an inverted frustrum. Because the circumference of the pouch substantially coincides with the periphery of mouth of the outer bowl-like paperboard container or carton containing the pouch, the pouch can be wholly sealed in bulk within the interior of the outer paperboard bowl-like container by folding and overlapping the non-food filled portions of the pouch back on itself. Portions of the circular portion of the pouch containing the food product are supported upon the sloping sidewalls and polygonal base of the container enabling the pouch to be heated and expanded in a controlled, substantially vertical manner wholly within the interior of the outer dimensions of the outer bowl-like paperboard container and enabling cooking fats and oils mixed with the expandable food product to drain along the sidewalls of the outer container in the pouch towards the base to assure expedient and full cooking of the food product.
In one form of the outer, bowl-like carton or container, the carton is provided with a substantially hexagonal base and a planar projection, hexagonal mouth and is adapted to be expediently erected from a flat, knock-down, shipped condition received from a carton manufacturer to an inverted frustrum or bowl filled with an expandable food product at the situs of the food product manufacturer, without the use of special package or carton forming equipment. In order to obtain such a carton, the base of the carton blank includes a pair of trapezoidal base portions joined by a cut or serrated scoreline so that the base can be folded 180.degree. back upon itself wherein the sidewalls can lie on top of each other. To erect the carton, it is only necessary to unfold the base to a flat or planar condition and the sidewalls will extend upwardly and outwardly from the base ready to receive the expandable food pouch.
The carton or container, however, has a tendency to collapse about the base fold line to its knock-down condition. A separate, hexagonally-shaped panel is provided and dropped into the carton onto the base portion to preclude the base portions from collapsing towards each other. However, this was time consuming and involved the provision of additional costly materials which had to be stocked.